Student Shuns Beautiful Weather, Refuses to Leave Library

I'm settling into another long lonely day at the library. The weather is BEAUTIFUL outside. Maybe I'll go for a little walk later to get some coffee and enjoy the weather. However, have a lot of writing to do on a pre-trial motion. I like this part of my writing course (motions, briefs, memorandum of law) because this is the sort of thing I do at work. A major difference though is that at work I find a motion or brief that our office had already written and then I modify it--I rarely have had to write one from scratch. Shad said he might come in to work with me this weekend, so it might be less lonely. He's working on a short comic for an upcoming anthology.

We went to two great gallery openings this weekend. Friday night was Nate's show at the AZ gallery in St. Paul. He's a friend of Shad's and his art is very cool. He uses neat patterns, poppy colors, screen-prints, etc. And the gallery is right next to Tanpopo Noodle Shop. We had a wonderful meal at Tanpopo with Zander and Julie a few years ago, in its old location, and I've wanted to go back but didn't know where it moved to. (I know, I know, I could have looked it up on this thing called the "internet" but was too lazy). So anyway, if you're looking for a nice little outing, go to 308 Prince Street, St. Paul and see Nate's artwork, then eat at Tanpopo and maybe just for kicks, go to the Artist's Quarter and listen to some jazz. Listen to me, the St. Paul expert. Last night we went to Ox-Op to see the Burlesque show. Was packed and super cool.

Finally, if you're still with me, I want to tell you about a bill, HR 418, that has been submitted to the Senate for review. This bill gives the Department of Homeland Security greater authority to review people's immigration status and change it, raises proof standards for asylum applicants, requires proof of residency status to get a state ID or drivers' license, sets minimum standards for federal recognition of state drivers' licenses and IDs, creates a linking of state drivers' license and ID information systems and intensifies security at the Mexican and Canadian borders. HR 418 will not help prevent terrorism. The greater regulations make it harder for people who need asylum to qualify, grants the Department of Homeland Security too much power over everyone's residency status, would prevent the undocumented from having safe driving standards and make them harder to identify if unable to receive a state ID, and would make crossing the border into the US even more dangerous. As you know I get fired up about asylum and refugee issues and I think this is a travesty. The United States, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, has an obligation under international law to provide protection to refugees and asylum seekers. Yet we are making it more and more difficult for them to obtain protection from the US government. The passage of this bill would put the US in breach of its obligation to refugees (if it's not already, after IIRIRA, mentioned one or two posts ago) and makes a mockery of international law (not that that is anything new under this administration). I plan to write to our Senators (actually, have suggested putting together a letter-writing campaign for Amensty) and I hope that you will too.

Speaking of Senators, did anyone see the photos of Norm Coleman's teeth?